Lead book review
The murder of a harmless Hampstead eccentric remains shrouded in mystery
For weeks the battered body of an elderly eccentric lay undiscovered in the heart of Hampstead. Philip Hensher believes the wrong man was charged with murder
Culinary cold war at the White House
The women whose ‘food stories’ Laura Shapiro chooses to tell are an odd bunch. Rose Prince wouldn’t want all six round her own table
Australia was ruined the moment Europeans set foot there
William Bligh’s was not the only astonishing open-boat voyage in the Pacific in the late 18th century. There were others just as desperate, says Nicholas Shakespeare
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s little house of horrors on the prairies
Laura Ingalls Wilder helped mythologise the life of the heroic American pioneer. But there was nothing remotely romantic about her upbringing, says Sarah Churchwell
It’s time to rehabilitate Ulysses S. Grant — scorned hero of the Civil War
Amanda Foreman is in no doubt that Ulysses S. Grant, for all his faults, is one of the great men of history
How cool is your fridge?
The fridge may have saved us from food poisoning, but is it now poisoning the planet, wonders Stephen Bayley
Reading Norman Davies’s global history is like wading through porridge
Following Norman Davies’s explorations is like travelling, mildly jet-lagged, from one air-conditioned lounge to another, says Philip Hensher
Is Jewish humour the greatest defence mechanism ever created?
Jewish humour has always been a defence mechanism against pain and persecution, says Keiron Pim
More books of the year
A further selection of the best and most overrated books of 2017, chosen by some of our regular reviewers
Books of the year
A selection of the best and most overrated books of 2017, chosen by some of our regular reviewers
Reza Aslan doesn’t fear God. But should he fear his fellow Muslims?
Do not fear God, Reza Aslan tells us. You are God. But preaching this form of pantheism can be dangerous, warns Alexander Waugh
Which writers really deserve to be called ‘outsiders’?
The women writers Lyndall Gordon presents as brave ‘outsiders’ had easy lives compared with many other struggling authors one can name, says Philip Hensher
What do Robin Hood, Jack the Ripper and Winston Churchill have in common?
Houdini, Antarctica, a maternity ward, the electric chair – they’re all subjects of failed musicals. But it’s impossible to predict what will work, says Roger Lewis
Edward Lear: where art and nonsense collide
Peter Parker on the modest, melancholy and astonishingly gifted painter and author
Simon Schama’s latest history is a Technicolor blockbuster
Simon Schama’s great, boisterous history has the Technicolor drama – and crude simplicity – of a Hollywood blockbuster, says Bernard Wasserstein
Anthony Powell gets the superb new biography he deserves
Hilary Spurling impressively captures the essence and the spirit of Anthony Powell, his writing and his era, says Philip Hensher
Britain über alles: Victorious Century reviewed
The 19th-century belonged to us, according to David Cannadine’s ambitious new history. Jane Ridley is mesmerised by it
The ‘biography’ of the creation myth: The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve reviewed
Steven Greenblatt’s cultural road trip is a compelling story of myth, theology and belief
Compared to today’s political climate, the Cold War seems almost cosy
Compared to today’s political climate, the Cold War seems almost cosy, says Alan Judd. At least you knew where you were then
The glories of empire — and Britain’s taste for the exotic
Katrina Gulliver salutes the traders and innovators of the British empire who first gave us our taste for the exotic
How the 2011 killer tsunami sent shock waves through Japan
The loss of so many children’s lives at Okawa primary school in 2011 was entirely avoidable, says Nicholas Shakespeare
Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn: a meeting of like minds
For Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, two great recorders of Restoration England, life was a cabinet of curiosities, says Frances Wilson
The dazzling vision of Thomas Gainsborough
Working in semi-darkness, Thomas Gainsborough produced some of the airiest, most poetic paintings imaginable, says Philip Hensher
Toscanini and the morality of conducting
Toscanini’s simple set of values made him certain of the rights and wrongs of everything, says Michael Tanner – except regarding women
Did the hideous carnage of Passchendaele gain the Allies anything?
Peter Parker on the carnage of Passchendaele
